Yan Lingxuan knew his own despicable selfishness all too well. He approached others only to ease his loneliness, fully aware they did the same. When would this tedious surface game end? Understanding this, he believed he’d never truly love anyone in this world—except perhaps his twin sister.
The odds of twins being born stand at roughly one in eighty. Among twins, identical pairs are rarer still—only one in a thousand births. And within that sliver, opposite-sex identical twins? A one-in-ten-million miracle. Medically speaking, identical twins share nearly identical genes, appearances, physical traits, brain structures, and even thought patterns. Countless cases even report telepathic bonds between them.
Yan Lingxuan and Bai Lingyue were such twins—genetically identical except for sex chromosomes. If so, they were truly two bodies, one heart.
...
...
Yan Lingxuan burst into the auditorium in the most spectacular fashion, hovering midair as his gaze swept the scene below. Classmates lay bleeding on the floor. Su Fangwen and Qin Jiangshu were being dragged away. Qi Jun stood restrained.
Yan Lingxuan had no hero complex. He wouldn’t sacrifice himself for others. His actions always served himself—he didn’t care about anyone else. Yet here he was, rushing into this battlefield. What a hassle. He’d come for one reason only: to avoid future regret. This wasn’t about saving others. It was selfish satisfaction.
"Made it just in time."
As he muttered, armed militants unleashed a hail of bullets. Over a hundred rifles aimed upward, muzzle flashes erupting like fireworks.
Stones encircling Yan Lingxuan whirled, deflecting the barrage. But just as he prepared to counterattack, the stones glowed cherry-red—then shattered completely under the bullets’ impact.
A bullet grazed his cheek, drawing blood. He dodged sharply, eyes locking onto the stage. Seven robed figures stood there. One had his hand raised. No doubt—he’d melted the stones.
*Seven mages? Troublesome.*
"He bleeds from bullets. Doesn’t seem that strong. Who is he?" Bernie Butterworth drawled, unimpressed.
Unlike Bernie, the cautious Alecxi barked orders: "Cease fire! We’ll handle him. Guard the hostages!"
Meng Bo hastily lowered his rifle, but amid the gunfire, many missed the command. They kept shooting excitedly at the airborne mage.
"*Damn it!*" Meng Bo kicked the rear of a still-firing militant.
Silence fell.
No hail of bullets meant no relief. Yan Lingxuan now faced stronger foes: mages.
Five mages launched themselves from the stage.
*Guess I’m fighting the mini-bosses first.*
Two remained onstage—likely higher-ranked villains.
Yan Lingxuan knew only basic Telekinesis and flight magic, having never studied systematically. No time to dwell. He channeled Magic Power into a cone-shaped blast toward the nearest mage.
The mage smirked. The blast dissolved inches away.
*Yep. Troublesome.*
Sensing concentrated magic energy, Yan Lingxuan tried to evade. Fighting here would endanger the students.
But he couldn’t move.
Trapped, he watched the five mages relax. One made a downward slamming motion.
Yan Lingxuan crashed into the floor. Stone fragments exploded outward, carving a small crater. Nearby students scrambled back in terror.
Stars danced before his eyes. His organs felt ruptured. A metallic sweetness flooded his throat. *Spitting blood. How pathetic...*
Bernie, who’d been idly watching, suddenly snapped his head up toward the ceiling hole.
"Three targets. 200 kph. Impact in three seconds," Alecxi reported.
Bernie shot upward, battle-ready.
Three figures plunged through the hole. One, radiating silver-white light, collided head-on with Bernie.
Their clash shook the entire hall with raw magical force.
After the deafening silence—
Bernie hovered midair, his attacker vanished. Blood seeped from a 20-centimeter gash on his arm, his torn sleeve fluttering.
"Apologies. They escaped—and rescued the captured mage," the five mages said, bowing before Bernie.
"*Hmph.*"
Bernie’s icy glare made them shiver. Only Alecxi remained unaffected. He stepped forward, hands glowing warmly as healing magic sealed Bernie’s wound. Blood stopped flowing; torn flesh knitted shut before their eyes.
"So this is Valkyries’ ace—the Silverhaired Violeteyed Sorceress, top student of Valhalla Academy? Truly lives up to her name."
Bernie’s scowl twisted into a savage grin. The ‘Executioner’ had fully awakened.
"I look forward to our next duel."
The entire auditorium reeled. Those who knew Yan Lingxuan stared in shock—he’d appeared as a mage, only to be crushed and rescued.
"Told you Yan Lingxuan wasn’t ordinary."
"Don’t act like you saw it coming. Weren’t you just saying ‘Lucky bastard skipped school today’?"
"Never mind the traitor—was that really the Silverhaired Violeteyed Sorceress and Golden Flame? So lucky to see them!"
"Lucky? Only if we survive to remember them..."
"Will... will Yan Lingxuan come back for us?"
"Who knows."
The otaku trio whispered, hidden from guards.
Yan Lingxuan’s intrusion forced Alecxi to tighten security. Su Fangwen and the girls were spared—for now.
"You... okay?" Sun Xiaocui asked softly.
Su Fangwen merely nodded, her expression cold. She remembered Sun Xiaocui lowering her head when militants dragged her away. Anger simmered—but then faded. *What could I have done? Speaking up changed nothing. I’d have suffered the same injustice.*
"That guy... came for nothing," Su Fangwen muttered once recovered.
Qi Jun lay on a chair, a teacher staunching his bleeding wound. Pain seared through him, but his mind replayed Yan Lingxuan soaring through the air.
*Damn it!*
...
Ten kilometers from No. 2 High, atop a skyscraper.
Warm light washed over Yan Lingxuan. The agony faded. Within five minutes, the searing pain vanished. He flexed his arm—fully healed.
"You reckless fool. You’d be dead if we hadn’t arrived," Katherine scolded.
"Thanks."
No remorse in his voice. He immediately pressed: "What now? With hostages in their hands, we’re stuck on defense. That’s the real problem."
His tone assumed their help was guaranteed. Their reactions varied: Shan Xi smiled, Katherine pouted, Bai Lingyue remained unreadable.
"Best option: wait for Zhonghua Region’s mages. With them, suppressing seven Waste Law Society mages is feasible. Their 150+ armed militants with AA5 rifles won’t be hard to handle. But—"
"—Hostages remain at risk," Yan Lingxuan cut in. "I saw the situation inside. New victims could appear while we wait."
He meant Su Fangwen and the girls. Those terrorists would stop at nothing. Even if they spared lives, some losses were irreparable. Yan Lingxuan wasn’t sure his rationality would hold if it came to that. He wasn’t kind—but some lines couldn’t be crossed.
"Alice, status update on No. 2 High?"
On Bai Lingyue’s Wearable Device, Alice’s tiny hologram appeared—black-stockinged legs making Yan Lingxuan pause. *(+_+)* *Not the time.*
Alice reported crisply:
"156 militants. 7 mages. 1,639 hostages: 36 injured, 8 critical. Waste Law Society’s demands: Release all imprisoned members in Zhonghua Region. Pay 100 billion Euroli ransom within one hour. Or execute 10 hostages every 30 minutes."
Euroli—the primary electronic currency across Asia and Europe. With mages enabling perfect counterfeits, physical money had vanished decades ago.
"Zhonghua government’s stance?"
"No official statement. But analysis shows 83% probability they’ll refuse."
No nation surrenders to terrorism. Especially not for 100 billion Euroli—enough to fund a superpower’s military for two years.
"Time’s too tight. Alice, any way to save all hostages before the deadline?" Bai Lingyue frowned.
"16 rescue scenarios simulated. None save all 1,639 hostages. Maximum success: 88%."
"So we sacrifice the remaining 12%?" Katherine snapped. But Atlantean supercomputers never erred.
Accepting the grim premise, Alice detailed the top scenario:
"Neutralizing ‘Executioner’ Bernie Butterworth is critical to success."
"I’ll handle him," Bai Lingyue stated, confidence hardening after their clash.
Bernie Butterworth was born in Minsk, Belarus. At 36, he served as a major general during the 2030 Belarusian civil war, when armed groups seized the government and established the "Kingdom of Allah." He frequently clashed with Russian forces. By 2045, he became a cadre of the global terrorist organization Waste Law Society. An A-class Mage, he was wanted worldwide by the United Nations and the Mages Guild.
Time crawled by, second by second. It was already 10:20 AM, with only 40 minutes left until the 11:00 AM ransom deadline. The 15 Mages dispatched by the Zhonghua Region government were still en route; they wouldn't arrive until after 11:00. By then, ten innocent hostages would be executed.
"There's no time left. If we're going to act, it has to be now," Shan Xi said decisively. He didn't want to sacrifice lives for victory, but there was no other choice.
"Wait!" Just as the three prepared to move, Yan Lingxuan—who had been silent all along—called out to them. Smugly, he said, "I have a win-win solution," giving his sister Bai Lingyue a suggestive look.
"Alice's calculations never err," Alice retorted indignantly when challenged on her computational prowess. This was the first time Yan Lingxuan had seen her show any emotion beyond cold indifference.
"Of course Alice's calculations are correct," Yan Lingxuan replied, "but this isn't a calculation issue. It's hypothetical. Suppose there were two Bai Lingyues..."
